Why Did George Lucas Sell Star Wars & How Does He Feel About It Now?
In 2012, the unthinkable occurred: George Lucas decided to sell Lucasfilm and the "Star Wars" franchise to the Walt Disney Company in a massive sale worth $4 billion. Naturally, many wondered why Lucas chose to sell his multimedia brainchild that launched him into the Hollywood stratosphere way back in 1977. As the director shared in "The Star Wars Archives. 1999-2005" by Paul Duncan, it all came down to time. "In 2012, I was 69... So the question was, am I going to keep doing this the rest of my life? Do I want to go through this again? Finally, I decided I'd rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while," he said of his decision.
Stepping away from the rigors of filmmaking and "Star Wars" universe expansion and upkeep in favor of spending time with family is as good a reason as any to hand Lucasfilm off to Disney. At the same time, one also has to wonder how he feels about the Disney acquisition in hindsight. While Lucas has admitted that selling Lucasfilm was very, very painful, he's largely supportive of its new direction. For instance, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" writer Tony Gilroy recalled receiving praise from Lucas after the film released (via Deadline), and Lucas visited the sets of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and "The Mandalorian" to see how things were going and offer praise and advice.
Still, just because Lucas ultimately sold "Star Wars" doesn't mean he didn't have further plans for it.
Lucas eyed a sequel trilogy of his own
Naturally, as soon as Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm was finalized, plans were put in place for a new "Star Wars" film trilogy. In 2015, 2017, and 2019, respectively, "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens," "Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi," and "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker" premiered in theaters, meeting a range of responses from critics and moviegoers alike. Long before these movies came and went from theaters, though, George Lucas had plans for a vastly different sequel trilogy to wrap up the "Star Wars" saga.
Suffice to say, Lucas had some pretty wild ideas for his films. In the aforementioned "Star Wars Archives. 1999-2005," he revealed that his hypothetical films put the focus on Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) rebuilding the Jedi Order, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) restoring the Galactic Republic to its former glory, and the unexpected alliance of Darth Maul and his Sith apprentice, Darth Talon, threatening the galaxy. Lucas explained that throughout the story, Leia becomes the new Chosen One as Maul and Talon wreak havoc. During a chat with James Cameron on "James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction," Lucas also teased a trilogy focused on midi-chlorians and the mysterious microscopic Whills.
Unfortunately, we'll likely never get to see George Lucas' ideas for a new "Star Wars" trilogy come to fruition. On the bright side, there's still tons of material from the galaxy far, far away coming that's worth looking forward to.